Schaefer Earns M.O.P. Honors at No. 1 Auburn
Auburn, Ala. – Freshman Madeline Schaefer earned her fourth Most Outstanding Player award of the year as the No. 3 South Carolina equestrian team fell to the No. 1 Auburn Tigers 13-5 on Saturday at the Auburn Equestrian Complex.
The Gamecocks (6-5, 3-3 SEC) continued their recent run of high scores, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the top ranked Tigers. Schaefer’s fences win bumped her record up to 6-2-0 this year, tied for the best fences record on the team. With her fourth M.O.P. she’s tied with Grady Lyman for most M.O.P. wins on the team with four each.
Senior Madison Sellman claimed a point on the flat with an 83-point ride, improving her flat record to 7-2-1 this season. Freshman Jordan Allen continues to impress after taking her point with an 80-point ride. Allen is tied with Schaefer for best fences record on the team at 6-2-0.
Freshman Natalie Vargo stayed hot in reining with her third straight win, giving her a combined nine wins when coupled with her horsemanship record. In her last chance to ride at Auburn senior Caroline Gute claimed her reining point to improve to 9-1-1 on the year in reining.
Notables
- The Gamecocks finish their SEC slate with a 3-3 record, the best record in conference play since the 2014-15 team posted a 4-2 SEC record.
- Madeline Schaefer notched her fourth straight fences win, and third M.O.P. during that stretch, with her 86-point ride. The freshman has a 6-2-0 record in over fences this season.
- Jordan Allen took her second consecutive fences point, improving to 6-2-0 on the season.
- Madison Sellman won her seventh flat point of the season, tying her for the team lead in flat wins.
- Caroline Gute won her ninth reining bout of the season, bringing her career reining wins to 38, one away from tying Chloe Gray (2007-11) for second place in program history.
Next Up
The Gamecocks wrap up their regular season with a trip to Delaware State. The regular season finale against the Hornets is set to begin a 9 a.m. on Friday, March 6 in Dover.
